HIV statistics and data in Australia
In Australia, state, territory and national HIV data is published annually in the Annual Surveillance Report by the Kirby Institute and at jurisdictional levels by state and territory health departments.
Each year, Health Equity Matters provides a snapshot of the Kirby Institute’s data which can be found here.
Reporting on HIV data
As well as the Kirby Institute and health departments, HIV social research centres also regularly release data including about behaviours that may put people at risk of acquiring HIV.
The release of data often stimulates media coverage. HIV data may also be included to provide context in other HIV-related reporting.
Three HIV data terms often confused are ‘incidence,’ ‘prevalence,’ and ‘newly diagnosed.’ These terms have distinct meanings and should not be used interchangeably.
- HIV incidence refers to the number of new HIV infections that occur within a specific period, typically expressed per 100,000 people in the population.
- HIV prevalence is the total number of people living with HIV at a specific point in time, regardless of when they were infected. It is typically expressed as a percentage of the population.
- Newly diagnosed refers to individuals who receive their first positive HIV test result within a specific period. This term does not necessarily indicate when the infection occurred, as some individuals may have lived with the virus for years before being diagnosed.
In Australia, several expert agencies analyse and report on HIV-related data:
- The Kirby Institute
- The Burnet Institute
- The Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH)
- The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS)
Globally, HIV data is analysed by the United Nations Program on AIDS (UNAIDS) and released in the form of regular country, regional and global reports.